There exists technology that simply and easily logs into or logs out of a designated device or system (hereinafter collectively referred to as an “external device” in some cases) by inserting or removing a medium storing authentication information (an IC card or USB memory, for example) into or out of a designated slot, without complicated operations such as inputting authentication information.
Also, in recent years, wireless communication technologies such as communication technology based on near field communication (NFC) and radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology are being used in some cases to transmit and receive information between a medium such as an IC card and an external device. In such systems utilizing NFC and REID technology, a user is able to hold up the medium to a reader/writer to thereby report authentication information recorded on that medium to an external device via the reader/writer.